Seed of the Black Tulip
by RTM2301
Summary: Loki couldn't manage to clone Gaia, but Giovanni did, resulting in Domino
1. Prologue

I own none of these characters; all belong to Francine Pascal and Satoshi Tajiri.

John was hidden among the real CIA operatives, firing away at the Organization soldiers at the Soldiers Sailors' Monument, praying that he wouldn't hit his brother and comrade, Wesley, who was equally hidden among the Organization's troops. This variety of combat was considerably rougher than what he was used to, but he was sent here for a reason, however insane that reason might have been. What did Giovanni want with some six-year-old girl, anyway?

Like everyone else, John was astonished when he saw the girl in question run through the hail of gunfire and knock out the leader of Wesley's side with some sort of specialized move he'd never seen before. Could Giovanni have known she might do something like that? Is that why they'd been sent there? One on each side, so their plan could work no matter who won?

Later that evening, John mingled among the other operatives and the doctors that were examining the girl. John discreetly pocketed one of the blood samples taken from her, and made his way through security to the exit. Once out, he took the subway to LaGuardia, where his employer awaited in a strange looking dual-propeller helicopter with a highly luxurious passenger compartment. "Well" Giovanni said as his Persian napped in his lap"I see the good guys won this afternoon."

John reported: "As you predicted, Gaia broke the stalemate by choosing which leader to attack. How could you possibly know, sir"

Giovanni replied"I saw her in action once before, four years ago. That's what got me interested. I trust you have the sample"

John reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a vial. "Right here, Sir."

"Excellent" said the Boss, who then pressed a button on his chair arm, addressing the pilot"To the lab."

"Yes, Giovanni" responded the pilot, then both propellers began to rotate, and Persian began to stir and the helicopter took off.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I own neither Fearless nor Pokemon

TWELVE YEARS LATER.  
While the bus driver was cursing what remained of the bus's timing chain, Gaia Moore had finished off a sizable Subway sandwich. She'd needed that month at the Kellers' farm; they had lifted her spirits considerably, especially D. Gaia was about to fall into another pit of grief when she heard four voices screaming as they fell into a more literal pit in the distance. The laughter she heard as she ran toward the sound must be from the pit's creators, she surmised. _Prepare for trouble,_ you say? Lady, you don't know what trouble is.  
Just when they thought they were done with them, BAM! They fell into another hole in the ground. After all the times Ash Ketchum and Company had fallen for them, the biggest surprise was that they still kept falling in.  
"To protect the world from devastation!" quoted Jessie as she reached into the pit with her gloved lazy tongs.

"To unite all peoples--" continued James when they saw a blond figure leap across the pit, disarming Jessie.

"What the--?" Jessie yelled as the stranger lowered Pikachu to the ground and released him. "Who are you? How dare you interrupt the Team Rocket Motto?"

"The name's Gaia Moore," answered the stranger with a voice that all but May & Max thought was familiar, but none could quite place. "...and there's not much I don't dare,"

"You'll pay for that!" retorted Jessie."GO, SEVIPER! WRAP ATTACK!" she commanded as she released her ebony snake from its PokeBall. Gaia surprised everyone by dodging the snake's fangs and grabbing the tip of its tail, redirecting its momentum right back at Team Rocket. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they said as the collision sent them through the air until they pinged out of sight.

As Ash and his friends finally reached the surface, The stranger who'd helped them was collapsing.

Pikachu, however, let loose an instinctive thundershock to jolt her awake. Just as she was about to black out, Gaia felt an electrical shock that jarred her awake, and a boy with a striking resemblance to the Sixth Sense kid looked at her like he'd been equally shocked. "Whoa, That was amazing!" he said in awe, "Where'd you learn to fight like that"  
Gaia answered: "From my dad. He never anticipated I'd go up against opponents like that, however"  
"Well, Thanks for what you did, Miss. My name's Ash Ketchum." Said the boy.  
"Gaia Moore." Said Gaia, returning the introduction.  
A taller, tanner boy then fell to one knee in his best impersonation of Romeo Montague: "Oh Gaia, sweet goddess of the Earth, allow me, Brock Slate, to worship the ground you walk on"  
"Cool your jets, Brock; she's way out of your league." Said a short bespectacled boy as he dragged Brock away by the ear.  
A brunette about Ash's height explained: "You"ll have to excuse Brock. He goes goofy like that with every beautiful girl he sees except me. I'm May, by the way, and that's my brother, Max." She pointed to the boy who'd "saved" her from Brock's advances.  
"Who were those kooks?" Gaia inquired, "What did they want with you"  
Finally, an opening. "Come have lunch with us and we'll tell you all about 'em." Retorted Brock, "Besides, you're quite a story yourself. You've got all our curiosity peaked"  
Gaia nodded and followed. She still had enough of her earnings from the Kellers' farm to catch another bus if need be...


	3. Chapter Two

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Disclaimer: Pokemon created by Satoshi Tajiri; Fearless created by Francine Pascal.  
A/N: Thank you to both my reviewers, I hope this update earns more.  
CHAPTER THREE Brock was working at assembling the greatest culinary masterpiece he could imagine using the available ingredients. He could barely believe that a girl more beautiful than all those Jennys and Joys actually accepted an invitation to sample one of his greatest talents! He was working hard at creating the perfect masterpiece to win her over.

Ash saw Gaia staring at the horizon with a look of grief, and asked: "Uh, Gaia... is everything okay"

Gaia answered, "Huh? Oh, yeah. It's just that those guys that ambushed you... their poem reminded me so much of the banter my friend Jake and I used to exchange while battling the creeps that roam New York's streets"

May gasped as her eyes opened so wide Gaia thought they might fire right out of their sockets. "You've been to New York City!" she asked, her enthusiasm now matching Brock's.

Gaia answered, "I was born there. I lived there until my uncle tried to kidnap me when I was six, and moved back there for my senior year in high school"

"Oh my god!" exclaimed May, "I've always wanted to see all the great cities of the world, especially New York! Is it really as magnificent as I've heard"

"It has its nice spots, like any city." answered Gaia, "My personal favorite was Washington Square Park, where people gather for $20 games of chess"  
When Gaia saw the daydreaming look on May's face... and Max's, too, when she mentioned chess, she knew she had to defuse their fantasies about New York... "The criminal element there was also my main source of exercise the past year; it seems to spawn new scumbags every day... and not many are likely to give their marks a chance to draw a PokeBall"

"I know what you mean," said Ash, "Team Rocket's done the same for us since we stopped them from raiding the Viridian City Pokemon Center. When they saw what Pikachu was capable of, they decided to never rest until he was theirs"

Gaia nodded: "My uncle was pretty much the same with me. He taught me a few moves Dad never mastered, but Dad taught me most of what I know. Because of how... reckless I was as a kid, he wanted me to be able to take care of myself, so he educated me in every martial art he knew, not to mention all the languages, especially Mom's Russian, the classic literature, the mathematics... I practically had a full high school education by the time I was 12, but then my uncle came looking to kill Dad. Mom, unfortunately, got in the way"

Everyone felt sympathy for Gaia at this point, especially Brock. "You too?" he asked, "Mine worked herself to death raising my ten younger siblings."

"TEN younger siblings?" Gaia asked, shocked. Like father like son, apparently.

"Yeah, the obstetric staff at Pewter General know us like Norm Peterson." Brock continued, "Anyway, I had to take over keeping the house and running the family Pokemon gym until Ash convinced Dad to come back to Pewter City. It was then that I started travelling with him"

Ash said "Your education was mostly at home, but mine is just the opposite. I'd always wanted to be a Pokemon Master, so when I turned 10, I visited Professor Samuel Oak at his lab, and started on my Pokemon journey from there. Now that you mention it, I think Mom gave me her blessing so I could learn to take care of myself too"

Gaia nodded in agreement, seeing in Ash's eyes the wisdom he'd amassed since leaving... Pallet Town, Kanto, apparently, since Professor Oak lived there.

"What did your dad say about it?" asked Gaia.

"He left us when I was young, about one and a half," replied Ash, "I don't remember much about him. He told me this story one, about a baby biting a pit bull, but that's about all I remember"

Gaia had to wonder if Ash's dad had seen her do that all those years ago.

"Anyway, long story short, Pikachu got hurt the first day, and as I was letting a river carry us away, we were literally caught on a fishing pole by a redhead named Misty. She pointed me to the Viridian City Pokemon Center, so I 'borrowed' her bike to get there, and that's where Team Rocket first showed up, trying to raid the place"

Gaia knew instinctively that Ash was referring to only those halfwits she'd engaged earlier, rather than the whole Team Rocket organization. Confusing the two would have been like confusing the FOHs with Yuri's Organization.

"We managed to stop them, but they've been trying to nab Pikachu ever since, and always using that same motto of theirs."

"Pika..." nodded Pikachu in agreement.

"You mean that poem?" Gaia asked, "They say it all the time"

"We've all got it memorized" answered Max, "Jessie and James love saying their names"

"Combusken!" Gaia overheard, apparenrly in a heated argument with Ash's Grovile. A chase then erupted, knocking over Brock's grill, ruining the magnificent lunch he was preparing.

"WHA--" said Ash as he backed away from the blaze.

"Oh NO!" May panicked.Gaia looked for something to extinguish the flames with, but there was no handy extinguisher this time. Brock deployed his Mudkip to douse the flames, inadvertently dousing Gaia as well.  
Brock shot a death glare at Ash and May, then tried to salvage the situation. Reaching into his backpack, he found what he thought was a pale replacement for his masterpiece... Holding up a box, he asked: "Uhhh... Anyone for Krispy Kreme"

Meanwhile, Jessie, James, and Meowth were watching the videophone ring until the answer came: "Giovanni's office, 009 here"  
It was then that the Rockets noticed a striking resemblance between Domino and the girl who'd trounced them... 


	4. Chapter Three

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CHAPTER FOUR "Domino..." said Jessie with utmost scorn. "It's been awhile since"

"IXNAY!" interrupted Jessie. "She doesn't recall doing anything to us... You-Know-Who (Mewtwo)swore us to secrecy, Remember? He erased her memory, and apparently part of yours, too"

"Uh, if you yutzes are just gonna whisper to each other, " interrupted Domino, "maybe it's a good thing Giovanni's away on top secret business"

Meowth, horned in, incensed,"Hey! We just got the livin' daylights beat outa' us by a girl that din't even use no Pokemon to do it"

"So, you've finally sunk that low?" snickered Domino.

Meowth sneered, "You shoula seen her, spinnin' Seviper right back at us likr that!"

James horned in, "If not for my Chimeco here, we'd all be in the hospital by now!"

Domino knew instinctively that this must be the girl Giovanni'd warned her about all her life... She traced the call to a pay phone just east of Fortree... "I'll be right there. Do not engage Gai-- the new 'twerp' any further... I will deal with her myself! Botch, you have the phones"

"That's Butch!" they all heard off screen.

"Botch, Butch, whatever!" said James and Domino in unison; at least they agreed on something.

Meanwhile, Gaia and her new friends were enjoying Brock's jelly donuts when she finally thought to ask him, "Brock, as a culinary expert, maybe you can something up for me that I've wondered for some time... what is the difference between jelly and jam?"

Brock answered, "Well, making jam uses the entire fruit, while jelly only uses the juice."

Max said, "Why would you be so interested in that?."

Gaia answered "I remember asking my parents that, but I never did find the answer until now... of course, they were probably occupied with bigger issues, since I'd never spoken until then."

"Pika..." chuckled Pikachu, resting on Gaia's shoulder as she handed him a bite.

"Uh, " Gaia said, pointing to something she spotted behind the shrubbery, "What's that?"

Ash opened his PokeDex, which chirped and replied: "Machop: the superpower Pokemon. It can hurl a Snorlax over 200 feet."

"MaaaCHOP!" announed the small powerhouse as he approached.

Gaia shot him an admiring smile, which he returned. So small, so cute, yet so powerful and confident... he reminded Gaia of herself at Max's age. Was this how her dad felt when saw her smiling face during their training sessions?

"Uhhh don't look now, Gaia," warned a concerned Max, "but I think it's challenging you to battle."

"Why her?" asked May, terrified of losing a new friend like this. "At least challenge someone with Pokemon"  
Brock reasoned: "He must've seen Gaia's battle against Team Rocket, and want to test her himself."

"Well, I'm game if he is," answered Gaia as she shifted her body into battle position.

Ash readied a PokeBall for Gaia to use, pondering if this was how the first Pokemon capture had been accomplished... 


	5. Chapter Four

CHAPTER FIVE Gaia couldn't literally understand Machop as it approached with a grin, but she got the gist pretty easily from his body language: "I hear you can fight." He was challenging her just as Jake had when they first met. She'd only fought Pokemon once before, and they'd been trained by Team Rocket's counterpart to the Wet Bandits. A wild Pokemon would be a new experience for her. She assumed battle position facing Machop, who followed suit. He tried a Hi Jump Kick, but she ducked, letting him fly past her and crash into tree. He tried a running at her for a Tackle, but she knocked him into the air with an uppercut to the chest. When Machop followed suit, Gaia found herself flung 20 feet through the air. Gaia's keen air sense enabled her to maneuver to land on her feet, but she allowed the impact to send her into a backward roll from which she launched into a charge. She then hie Machop with a jab that knocked him into another tree. He got to his feet, but was starting to pant.  
"Now's your chance, Gaia!" said Ash, smiling in awe of the spectacle of the battle. Knowing exactly what Ash meant, Gaia pulled the Pokeball from her pocket and pressed the button to enlarge it. Machop attempted a Karate Chop, but Gaia parried it into a Judo throw which sent him into a rock, and then.  
"POKEBALL GO!" called Gaia as she threw the ball, which hit its mark perfectly. The ball opened, releasing the usual beam of red energy which engulfed and absorbed Machop, drawing him into the ball before it clamped shut. The Pokeball then shook furiously as Machop tried to burst free. Over the next minute, the ball slowed its rocking until the light in the button pinged off. "Whoa, that was awesone!" exclaimed Max. "More amazing than taking out Team Rocket!" said Ash.  
"Pi-Pikachu!" said Pikacu he jumpedup for a hi-five with Gaia.  
Brock picked up her hand to kiss it, but noticed she was passing out again, so he got behind her to catch her instead. Maybe my chivalry can win her over, he hoped.  
After watching the battle from behind a distant tree, a man activated his cell phone and called the first number in its memory. "Bishop speaking." came the answer.  
"This is Lance. I found the girl you told me about; she just captured a Machop. You were right; the is a resemblance to Domino, apart from the hair. She moves like Domino as well: the precision, the grace, the confidence... if this isn't the Black Tulip herself incognito, we could use someone like her against Domino"  
"I can hear the admiration in your voice, Lance, but even if she isn't Domino, she's still dangerous. You've seen the dossier"  
"Spare me." interrupted Lance, "Even if that dossier is correct, Gaia Moore is no more dangerous than Ash Ketchum, and he even helped me out on the Red Gyarados case"  
"Ketchum has that same reckless vigilante streak!" exclaimed agent Bishop. "He's never once tried to contact one of those 'Jennys' when those nitwits from Team Rocket attacked him. If he'd only called us when Giovanni was on Mount Caina, we'd have him in custody by now. and let's not forget, it was him who encouraged the passengers of the St Anne to battle all those Rockets on board. His recklessness sank that ship and he and his friends were lucky to get off it alive afterwards"  
"Jennifer, calm down before Gaia hears you." admonishes Lance.  
Bishop then got really upset then. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT CLOSE TO THEM? DO YOU WANT TO GET SPOTTED?" Since she couldn't reach through the phone to strangle Lance, she slammed the phone down as hard as she could. DAMMIT! I should be out there! she told herself, but it was no use. Ever since she'd been told to report on an assignment to New Island she didn't even remember receiving, she'd been stuck behind this goddamn desk, which she felt like throwing out the window. She hadn't even seen Shellshocker since then. If she could just get back in the field.  
Domino, dressed in her most stylish red dress, boarded the plane to Petalburg. She hoped none of her comrades would spot her dressed in something Jessie and James might have created. If only they'd gone into fashion design... Thankfully, no one spotted her giggling demeanor as being no more genuine than that fortune telling book that once had James acting like a droog. James the Moltres, indeed... only someone as airheaded as him could allow a mere book to affect him like a dose of Invince... She quickly shook the thought. Soon... soon we will see which of us is truly superior... Gaia... or Gaiatwo. 


	6. Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE 

As Domino took in the spectacular view from the plane window, she thought back to her first moment of consciousness.

When 009 first awoke in Giovanni's cloning tank, she had no clue she was a clone... she thought she was the original Gaia, and that she'd been captured. It took some doing for Giovanni to convince herof the truth, that she'd been created as a clone, from a blood sample taken the night after a miniature war between the CIA and the Organization at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Giovanni described the unique talent she and Gaia shared, a rare ability he quickly tested against an Onix. A powerful enemy, to be sure, but the Black Tulip did not disappoint. She stared into the eyes of her first enemy, and he saw no fear in hers. He tried to hit her, but she jumped from his path, up to the sprinkler controls. When she activated them, Giovanni smiled, an event she learned was rare.

009's performance in her duties elicited more smiles from him than most, probably due to his pride in creating her. Domino's only failure was at Mount Caina, which, according to Team Rocket records, was an attempt to recapture another clone: Mewtwo, a psionic Pokemon Giovanni created after his success with Domino proved the cloning process was viable. Giovanni had no more recollection of it than 009 did. Giovanni had given Domino explicit orders to steer clear of New York City to avoid being spotted by Gaia or any of her associates, but, unknown to Giovanni, Gaia Moore was no longer in New York, giving Domino the chance to challenge her to a knock-down drag-out to really gauge their abilities. Since they shared the same DNA, it would come down to their training, to whether Thomas Moore or Giovanni Ketchum was superior at shaping fearless children into fighting machines. Now the Black Tulip would test herself against the source of her DNA, the one opponent she should fear most of all.

Gaia and her new Machop were sparring again, parrying each other's blows like they'd been choreographed by Adam West. Brock was gaping at her again, still amazed at her perfect combination of beauty and power. Max had to pull him back eight times so far.  
Finally, when they both started panting, Gaia held out her Pokeball and called out "Machop, Return!"

"My God," commented Ash, "I haven't seen anyone train themselves against their Pokemon since Chuck back in Cianwood City."

"Who?" May asked.

"Gym Leader." Max answered. "Fighting specialist"

"There's also all those Officer Jennys." Brock pointed out, "They train alongside their Pokemon. Growlithe, mostly"

"I once trained with a Jenny like that myself for a day." Ash recalled, "We even stopped Team Rocket from stealing all their Growlithe"

"You mean those dimwits? They really follow you everywhere, don't they?" Gaia observed.

From a denser forest segment, Meowth shook his fist, saying: "What's she mean callin' us dimwits? Why I oughta--"

James interceded: "She just spent an hour sparring against a Machop. What chance do you think you'll have"

"What kind of an attitude is THAT?" said Jessie, "She may have caught us off guard last time, but now we can prepare"


	7. Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

As Domino took in the spectacular view from the plane window, she thought back to her first moment of consciousness...

When 009 first awoke in Giovanni's cloning tank, she had no clue she was a clone... she thought she was the original Gaia, and that she'd been captured. It took some doing for Giovanni to convince her of the truth, that she'd been created as a clone, from a blood sample taken the night after a miniature war between the CIA and the Organization at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Giovanni described the unique talent she and Gaia shared, a rare ability he quickly tested against an Onix. A powerful enemy, to be sure, but the Black Tulip did _not_ disappoint. She stared into the eyes of her first enemy, and he saw no fear in hers. He tried to hit her, but she jumped from his path, up to the sprinkler controls. When she activated them, Giovanni smiled, an event she learned was rare. 009's performance in her duties elicited more smiles from him than most, probably due to his pride in creating her. Domino's only failure was at Mount Caina, which, according to Team Rocket records, was an attempt to recapture another clone: Mewtwo, a psionic Pokemon Giovanni created after his success with Domino proved the cloning process was viable. Giovanni had no more recollection of it than 009 did.

Giovanni had given Domino explicit orders to steer clear of New York City to avoid being spotted by Gaia or any of her associates, but, unknown to Giovanni, Gaia Moore was no longer in New York, giving Domino the chance to challenge her to a knock-down drag-out to really gauge their abilities. Since they shared the same DNA, it would come down to their training, to whether Thomas Moore or Giovanni Ketchum was superior at shaping fearless children into fighting machines. Now the Black Tulip would test herself against the source of her DNA, the one opponent she should fear most of all...

Gaia and her new Machop were sparring again, parrying each other's blows like they'd been choreographed by Adam West.

Brock was gaping at her again, still amazed at her perfect combination of beauty and power. Max had to pull him back eight times so far.

Finally, when they both started panting, Gaia held out her Pokeball and called out "Machop, Return!" "My God," commented Ash, "I haven't seen anyone train themselves against their Pokemon since Chuck back in Cianwood City." "Who?" May asked.

"Gym Leader." Max answered. "Fighting specialist."

"There's also all those Officer Jennys." Brock pointed out, "They train alongside their Pokemon. Growlithe, mostly."

"I once trained with a Jenny like that myself for a day." Ash recalled,"We even stopped Team Rocket from stealing all their Growlithe."

"You mean those dimwits? They really follow you everywhere, don't they?" Gaia observed.

From a denser forest segment, Meowth shook his fist, saying: "What's she mean callin' us dimwits? Why I oughta..."

James interceded: "She just spent an hour sparring against a Machop. What chance do you think you'll have?"

"What kind of an attitude is THAT?" said Jessie, "She may have caught us off guard last time, but now we can prepare."

James wondered, "And just how do you propose to do that?"

"You saw how she started to droop before Dustox's sleep powder even touched her?" Jessie said.

James and Meowth shook their heads.

Jessie continued, "We simply keep her distracted while Dustox covers them all. Then we deliver Pikachu _and_ the new twerp to the Boss. I'm sure he'd be interested in her..."

"We'll run ahead," started James.

"Wait for nightfall," continued Meowth.

"Then start digging." finished Jessie...

The Rockets ran to prepare their next trap.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

When Domino's plane touched down in Hoenn, she stepped off as bubbling as she stepped on. No real point in breaking cover until she stepped out of the Petalburg airport. Then she found a closed motorcycle dealership, vaulted over the fence, hotwired one of the faster cycles, and was on her way.

By the time Team Rocket finished their latest pitfall, it was nearly nightfall, but that was part of the plan: they were counting on the twerps' fatigue at this hour to give them an advantage to grab Pikachu.

Team Rocket had just hidden behind separate trees when the "twerps" approached. All were yawning, and couldn't wait to get to the next town and the Pokemon Center therein. Gaia was the first to feel the ground buckling under their feet, but by the time she tried to step back, it was too late.

This time, Jessie and James had Gaia in their trap with the rest of the twerps, so she wouldn't take them by surprise again... or so they thought. Gaia hit the button to enlarge her Pokeball and commanded: "Machop! Throw me to the surface!"

Gaia landed on the edge of the pit and hit Jessie with a roundhouse kick. Meowth tried his Fury Swipes, but Gaia blocked with her left arm and swatted him away. James managed to pull Cacnea off his face when Gaia threw him over her shoulder into their own pit, barely missing Ash being thrown up by Machop.

Jessie struggled to her feet and deployed Seviper, but Ash threw in his contribution: "Grovyle! Bullet Seed!" as Jessie ducked, Gaia grabbed her arm and threw her into the pit. Pikachu sent a thunderbolt into the pit, sending Jessie and James "blasting off again!" Meowth ducked behind a tree, knowing his pals would turn up wherever the twerps were. He saw Brock catch Gaia as she stumbled three steps before blacking out. At that hour, "Well, we'll never make it to the next town with Gaia out like this..." Ash reasoned.

"Might as well camp out here." Max suggested.

"My spare sleeping bag will keep Gaia warm," Brock said, covering Gaia with it as if she were a Skitty.

Gaia found herself on Skyler's roof again, fighting off fake doctors, throwing them all over the edge to the street below one by one. When it was all done, Skyler clapped several times, shouting "BRAVO!" before pulling out what so many had used after this exact same tactic, though never on a human: a Pokeball.

"If you think... you can... catch me... with THAT... you gotta... be... dreaming..." Gaia puffed.

"Well, one of us certainly is..." Skyler said as he threw the ball, which opened as it struck. Next thing Gaia knew, her vision was consumed with red light, then darkness. She felt an energy field trying to hold her in the fetal position, but she struggled against it, until she realized all she was doing was reducing Brock's spare sleeping bag to so many washrags and waking everybody up in what appeared to be the dead of night.

Everyone was staring at Gaia as if they might be next. "Whoa! That must have been some nightmare!" Max said.

Pikachu gasped, "Pikaaa!"

May concurred: "Whoever this Skyler is, he must be real bad news."

Ash guessed, "What did he do, try to kill you or something?"

"Not quite..." Gaia admitted, "but he took me to his apartment where this doctor was about to do an autopsy with me still alive."

Max, realizing with horror what an autopsy was, "My God! Why would anyone want to do that?"

A new voice interrupted: "The same reason Giovanni sent two agents to the Soldiers & Sailors' Monument twelve years ago..."

Ash turned and recognized her right away: "DOMINO!"

"You know this girl?" Gaia asked.

Domino filled in, "We met at Mount Caina. What I didn't mention was that Mewtwo wasn't Giovanni's first clone."

Brock realized what Domino meant, "He sent those agents to get Gaia's DNA... and used it to create Domino!"

May pondered, "This still doesn't make sense. What makes Gaia so important? What's in her DNA?"

Domino grinned with anticipation: "Her DNA... OUR DNA... has a single tiny 'flaw'... one that keeps us both from ever experiencing even the slightest hint of fear,,, neither of us can ever feel nerves, tension, even the slightest jitters... much less the sheer terror most feel when their lives were at stake.

Brock gasped: "I should have realized that when you stood so cheerfully on the edge of Team Rocket's flailing balloon!"

Gaia realized: "You must be here to challenge me."

"One on one, to the finish!" Domino answered, "You've been weighing on my mind for too long."

All the Pokemon came out of their Pokeballs to witness the impending spectacle.

Gaia and Domino stared at each other for several minutes, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally Domino tried a flying kick, but Gaia caught her ankle and swung her adversary over her head, landing Domino on her face. Domino got to her knees and tried to grab Gaia's ankle to trip her, but Gaia kicked Domino's left eye. Domino parried Gaia's fist away with her own, and managed to hit her stomach, then wrapped her arm around Gaia's neck. Gaia pulled Domino's foot up with her own, freeing herself in the process, then pulled Domino over her shoulder to the ground. Gaia went to step on Domino's neck, but Domino quickly rolled aside, then rolled backward to her feet. Gaia waited for Domino's next move, an attemped kick to the jaw, which Gaia dodged. A hard heel kick to the gut made it rough on Domino's breathing, but Gaia then kicked Domino's chin.

Domino caught herself on a tree, then flung herself back at Gaia with a fist, but Gaia grabbed her wrist and swung her head into a tree.

By this point both combatants were starting to tire, their bodies starting to give out, but neither was willing to give while the other was conscious. Pikachu knew what was needed here, having done it once before, so he gave Gaia another brief shock to keep her awake a few more seconds. Gaia used this extra energy to give Domino a final roundhouse kick to get her out first.

"I'll have to thank Gaia for her help when she wakes up," announced Lance as he left his vantage point to cuff Domino and take her into custody, "We've been after her carbon copy for months. Now was the perfect chance." Lance hit the redial on his cell phone and reported, "Bishop, we got the doppleganger; I'm bringing her in. It might have been a stalemate without Pikachu."

"Be careful," Jennifer said, " Even cuffed, someone with her abilities is still dangerous."

Lance agreed, "Right. I'll be careful. Over and out."

Ash, May, Max and Brock were all dumbfounded.

It wasn't often they'd seen human combat, much less by humans capable of holding their own against some Pokemon, and they were shocked. As Gaia began to stir, Brock approached her cautiously. "Uh, Gaia... are you all right? You two nearly killed each other just now."

Gaia struggled to her feet, saying "No... not yet... give me a few minutes..." She turned to the guy binding Domino, "If you're taking her into custody, don't let her wake up until she's in an airtight cell."

"I wouldn't worry about Lance," Ash assured Gaia, "He didn't get to be a Pokemon G-Man without being capable, even against the likes of Domino."

"Good luck, though," Max said, "You're gonna need it to deal with her."

Domino started to stir, and began working herself free, but Lance grabbed her arm, "Come on, 009, you're coming with me to be examined by our Alakazam, and he's gonna tell us everything you know about Team Rocket. All their secrets are ours now..." Lance strapped his new prisoner in his sidecar and rolled away.

By that time the sun was rising, and Brock decided he may as well start breakfast while the others packed up their sleeping bags.

Lance deliberately took the bumpiest roads he could find to keep Domino from having a chance to pick her cuffs. What he didn't count on was the small vial of HCl in her left glove. All she had to do was crack it and the acid would weaken the cuffs until she could snap them. then Domino jumped behind Lance and put a sleeper hold on him until he crashed, then threw him off his cycle and used it to escape.

By the time Domino returned to Viridian City, Giovanni had returned and was not happy with Domino's actions. Domino anticipated this and expected some sort of sanctions as a result. So, when she saw Dr Karl T Ulrich standing beside Giovanni, she realized what he was planning. Naturally, before either could move, both had tulip darts in thier carotid arteries. Thirty minutes later, both were strapped to the practice targets for the Infernape. Unlike Loki, Domino made_ sure_ her predecessor was dead before announcing her takeover.

After Ash had won yet another badge, Gaia decided it was time to part ways and continue to California, only this time, she decided to take a cue from Ash and go the rest of the way on foot. She encountered a few scumbags here and there, some she fought herself, some she let her Machop take care of. She kept solvent by battling other Pokemon Trainers, betting half her money on the outcome, a reminder of the $20 chess games back in Washington Square Park.

On a late night in Cleveland, Gaia saw another girl fighting at least as well as she did. She stood ready to jump in, but it seemed unnecessary, leaving Gaia with that many more questions for this girl, starting with why her enemies turned to dust when stabbed...


End file.
